I just booked a round trip flight on EVA using their website.  LAX to BKK to LAX.  Connecting through Taiwan.  I have flown this route about a dozen times the last 15 years.  The EVA site is challenging in some respects.  First of all, you may have some seats you prefer.  Unfortunately you can not initially search on flights based on a seat choice.  Most sites are like that. But on EVA, you have to get all the way through selecting your flight(s) and entering a lot of information , then you get to the seat selection and if you do not see that the seatss you want are available, you can NOT go back and select or change your flight!  The flights you selected are considered booked and show up on your profile.

 

So you have to go back to the home page, and start your search all over again.  Enter a bunch of information that you had already  entered, select the different flight, it becomes booked then you can look at seat selection.  Your desired seats are not available?  Repeat process. The website does NO work by going back.  The site used to have a back or previous button so you could change your flight initially selected if seats you want are not available and try another one, but not any more

 

Sadly, some of the information I had to re enter each time I tried to select flights was my passport number and a few other things even though all that is in my profile.  .Just adds a few minutes for each attempt.

 

As I was looking for my desired seats, I ended up with 4 booked confirmed flights.  Now no payment information was made but i think the site has a number of bookings limit.  Now the weird part.  You can NOT delete those bookings because they were not yet purchased or ticketed.  Disconcerting to me.  I called the Help number and the man agent was very helpful.  First he said those bookings do drop off after a few days so no money is involved and there are no problems.  Second he said he can see what seats are available on flights and if you call them while booking you can then select up front the flights you want.  Third he was able to clear out the undesired bookings and the web site was cleaned up within one hour.

 

Another thing is for something like 24 USD you can hold the desired flight and seats for three days before you pay and confirm.  I selected that as I had a few things to double check in case I did something wrong doing this at 2 AM.  The next day I wanted to confirm and finalize the flight, and that was a bit challenging to find the right manage drop down.  I did find that and all is booked and my credit card is billed.  Of course there was a verification step I had to click for my payment to go through (citicard),

 

 

I agree that EVA's booking site isn't easy. I know that there are a lot of parameters airlines need when making a booking but they could certainly make sites more user friendly. I made a mistake on EVA's site in 2017 where my first/last name was pre-filled wrong way round from USA to BKK. At least they allowed cancellation and full refund in the 24 hours after booking. Many or most airlines want to upsell services such as seats, insurance, hotels, car hire etc. but adding banner advertising to their booking pages is distracting and annoying and detracts from the UX.

 

FYI follow on:  My round trip  Premium Economy ticket from LAX to BKK  and back to LAX cost $2,500 USD.  I first flew these types of flights back around 2010 through 2019 and the prices used to range from 1,500 to 1,700.

9 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

But on EVA, you have to get all the way through selecting your flight(s) and entering a lot of information , then you get to the seat selection and if you do not see that the seatss you want are available, you can NOT go back and select or change your flight!  The flights you selected are considered booked and show up on your profile.

 

That would stop me even considering flying with them.

 

I want to see if my preferred seat is available on a flight first before spending an age entering stuff.

1 minute ago, Will B Good said:

 

That would stop me even considering flying with them.

 

I want to see if my preferred seat is available on a flight first before spending an age entering stuff.

yes.  It is quite tedious and awkward.  There is no "back" feature.  once you get to the point of being able to see seats.

3 minutes ago, gk10012001 said:

yes.  It is quite tedious and awkward.  There is no "back" feature.  once you get to the point of being able to see seats.

 

No way.

 

I book with Emirates and have four preferred seats.....if they aren't available I'll chose another flight.

2 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

No way.

 

I book with Emirates and have four preferred seats.....if they aren't available I'll chose another flight.

 

   What is preferable about those four specific seats ?

 

1 minute ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   What is preferable about those four specific seats ?

 

 

Not telling you.....everyone will start booking them.

15 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

Not telling you.....everyone will start booking them.

 

   I just wanted to choose a seat furthest away from those seats  , just in case 

You can easily check seat availability for any flight at expertflyer.com.  Works very well.

4 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   I just wanted to choose a seat furthest away from those seats  , just in case 

 

 

Why do people on here have to be so nasty?

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

Why do people on here have to be so nasty?

 

   Would you want to sit next to me on  flight from LDN to BKK ?

 

 

Well then.................

Never found an airline website where you get to pick your "favourite" seat and then see on what flights that seat is available. Mind you, I've only been flying up to a dozen flights a year since 1977 so maybe I've missed a trick (but I doubt it).

58 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Never found an airline website where you get to pick your "favourite" seat and then see on what flights that seat is available. Mind you, I've only been flying up to a dozen flights a year since 1977 so maybe I've missed a trick (but I doubt it).

Even if you have a favourite seat buried in the small print is 

airplane seat bookings are subject to change due to operational, safety, or security reasons, even after you have paid for a specific seat. Airlines can change your seat assignment at any time

10 hours ago, Upnotover said:

You can easily check seat availability for any flight at expertflyer.com.  Works very well.

 

Frequent flyers like that website. However, I think you are offering an excellent tool to the wrong audience because;

- It requires users to read instructions and to correctly input search parameters.  It works best for those seeking redemptions and upgrade availability and,

- There is a small user fee. Do you see these people  paying for it?  🙂

 

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Never found an airline website where you get to pick your "favourite" seat and then see on what flights that seat is available. Mind you, I've only been flying up to a dozen flights a year since 1977 so maybe I've missed a trick (but I doubt it).

 

Some do.  Delta, Air Canada, United, Korean.

 

12 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

No way.

 

I book with Emirates and have four preferred seats.....if they aren't available I'll chose another flight.

Yeah, 1A, 1K, 2A, 2K. Deal breaker.

Just clear your cache and go again...  Or use a different browser.

 

But honestly - as someone who flies as often as I do, unless you’re stretched out in a Q-Suite with a Valium, every flight’s miserable. So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that one economy seat being 5% better than another really isn’t worth losing sleep over (though sleep is a rare privilege unless in the aforementioned Q-Suite with a Valium !!)

 

 

12 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

No way.

 

I book with Emirates and have four preferred seats.....if they aren't available I'll chose another flight.

 

The only time I’ve ever had anything approaching a genuinely better experience was with Qatar Airways – as recently as last year they were using Qantas aircraft with re-painted livery (so the Qantas interior and layout). Qantas had a four-tier cabin setup (including both Economy and Premium Economy), but Qatar’s ticketing only offered three classes. So opting for the ‘Comfort+’ seats instead of the bulkhead legroom ones actually made a noticeable difference – we’re talking 2-4-2 across instead of 3-4-3. Other than that, after 16 to 20-plus long-haul flights a year, it all blurs into the same weary sameness.

 

When I have the time - I find it much better to do shorter legs and stay over night for a good sleep.

 

With Eva Air you can choose your seat at no cost within 48 hours of your flight. I prefer an aisle seat and have found that there is usually a fair selection still going if I select 48 hours before.

8 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

..

Some do.  Delta, Air Canada, United, Korean.

 

 

Good to know, thanks. I have limited hours with those carriers.

 

 

15 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

Why do people on here have to be so nasty?

Because they can sling without any consequences.  

20 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

No way.

 

I book with Emirates and have four preferred seats.....if they aren't available I'll chose another flight.

same with me on EVA.  I always flew Premium Economy and a decade ago all the seats in that class were the same. Lots of space between seats, never rub elbows, all seats had foot rest, all seats reclined quite nicely.  however, later they changed the seats.  Now there are no foot rests that come up when you recline.  Instead there are foot pegs on the back of the seat in front of you.  However, there are a few "secret" seats that still have foot rests.  This is on the 777 planes anyway.  And these seats are very guaranteed when one pays the full fare for premium economy.  The only downside now, is that one row with the seats I like, are sometimes reserved for baby sleepers because there is a lot of floor space compared to other rows.  But on about a dozen flights I only had one baby in the row and it was a quiet sleeper and two seats over from me.

I just booked a one way on EVA (CNX-TPE-LAX) and found the process simple.  I picked the flight, paid with my AMEX and picked my seats. The best seats had a fee so picked the free ones in the back of economy.  

12 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

Frequent flyers like that website. However, I think you are offering an excellent tool to the wrong audience because;

- It requires users to read instructions and to correctly input search parameters.  It works best for those seeking redemptions and upgrade availability and,

- There is a small user fee. Do you see these people  paying for it?  🙂

There is a free version (as I use) with limited functionality, but it is sufficient to check which seats are available on a specific flight.  Needs minimal inputs.

12 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Just clear your cache and go again...  Or use a different browser.

 

But honestly - as someone who flies as often as I do, unless you’re stretched out in a Q-Suite with a Valium, every flight’s miserable. So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that one economy seat being 5% better than another really isn’t worth losing sleep over (though sleep is a rare privilege unless in the aforementioned Q-Suite with a Valium !!)

 

 

 

The only time I’ve ever had anything approaching a genuinely better experience was with Qatar Airways – as recently as last year they were using Qantas aircraft with re-painted livery (so the Qantas interior and layout). Qantas had a four-tier cabin setup (including both Economy and Premium Economy), but Qatar’s ticketing only offered three classes. So opting for the ‘Comfort+’ seats instead of the bulkhead legroom ones actually made a noticeable difference – we’re talking 2-4-2 across instead of 3-4-3. Other than that, after 16 to 20-plus long-haul flights a year, it all blurs into the same weary sameness.

 

When I have the time - I find it much better to do shorter legs and stay over night for a good sleep.

 

 

Booked the Q-Suite BKK to Heathrow (or Gatwick?).......got on the flight....no Q-Suites......"sorry sir"

 

Never flew Qatar again.

11 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

Booked the Q-Suite BKK to Heathrow (or Gatwick?).......got on the flight....no Q-Suites......"sorry sir"

 

Never flew Qatar again.

 

   They did have Q-seats , but they only want high class passengers sitting in them .

   Affluent people wouldn't want riff raff sitting next to them on flights.

Some people are refused as to not to lower standards

3 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   They did have Q-seats , but they only want high class passengers sitting in them .

   Affluent people wouldn't want riff raff sitting next to them on flights.

Some people are refused as to not to lower standards

 

 

Oh my......you must have kicked off big time......at least now you know your place.

32 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   They did have Q-seats , but they only want high class passengers sitting in them .

   Affluent people wouldn't want riff raff sitting next to them on flights.

Some people are refused as to not to lower standards

 

C'mon.  It happens with some airlines, the ones who do not have a consistent seat configuration. there were times when I was flying Thai and was subject to the last minute equipment switch. It's  frustrating.

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Just clear your cache and go again...  Or use a different browser.

 

But honestly - as someone who flies as often as I do, unless you’re stretched out in a Q-Suite with a Valium, every flight’s miserable. So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that one economy seat being 5% better than another really isn’t worth losing sleep over (though sleep is a rare privilege unless in the aforementioned Q-Suite with a Valium !!)

 

 

 

The only time I’ve ever had anything approaching a genuinely better experience was with Qatar Airways – as recently as last year they were using Qantas aircraft with re-painted livery (so the Qantas interior and layout). Qantas had a four-tier cabin setup (including both Economy and Premium Economy), but Qatar’s ticketing only offered three classes. So opting for the ‘Comfort+’ seats instead of the bulkhead legroom ones actually made a noticeable difference – we’re talking 2-4-2 across instead of 3-4-3. Other than that, after 16 to 20-plus long-haul flights a year, it all blurs into the same weary sameness.

 

When I have the time - I find it much better to do shorter legs and stay over night for a good sleep.

 

Expand  

 

Booked the Q-Suite BKK to Heathrow (or Gatwick?).......got on the flight....no Q-Suites......"sorry sir"

 

Never flew Qatar again.

 

Thats not the first time I've read about this happening. 

 

Qatar Airways do have a reputation for 'switching plane' - and this is a major sticking point for those who've  chosen that specific flight because it has Q-Suites.  Additionally, the business class seating with Q-Suites is often a more expensive flight. 

 

Qatar Airways beat the competition IMO - but their standards of 'value the customer' is poor when it comes to such issues.

It took them 5 months to refund a flight 'they' cancelled - legally it should have taken less than week (I had to get an ombudsman involved) - Etihad have been just as bad, meanwhile Emirates handle such issues in a far better manner (in my experience).

 

But...  for business class seating - Q-Suites can't be beaten - I'd be very annoyed if they switched a plan out on me when I'm expecting a - Q-Suite.

 

The 'only' issue with Q-Suites is the flight becomes too short !!! - it would be nice to get a full 9-10 hours sleep instead of having to stop off half way (when laying flat).

 

 

 

53 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   They did have Q-seats , but they only want high class passengers sitting in them .

   Affluent people wouldn't want riff raff sitting next to them on flights.

Some people are refused as to not to lower standards

 

Whats the point of carrying a childish grudge over from other threads and trying to start an argument and throw out offence in this thread ?

 

Don't you have the ability to deal with each subject (and poster) on the individual merits of the post and thread itself ???

 

 

7 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

I just booked a one way on EVA (CNX-TPE-LAX) and found the process simple.  I picked the flight, paid with my AMEX and picked my seats. The best seats had a fee so picked the free ones in the back of economy.  

yes.  it works fine.  Next time try not liking the seats you saw the first time.  You can not back up and just change the flight at that point.  Got to go back to home page and book another flight.  And you will see that the first attempt now shows as a booked flight.  Not paid or any money due, just booked.  I was told that may fade away after 3 or 4 days